Open source project adds "no military use" clause to the GPL

newsforge ^ | Monday August 14, 2006 | Tina Gasperson

[nycoem]

Legal Open source project adds "no military use" clause to the GPL Monday August 14, 2006 (04:01 PM GMT) By: Tina Gasperson

Printer-friendly Email story GPU is a Gnutella client that creates ad-hoc supercomputers by allowing individual PCs on the network to share CPU resources with each other. That's intriguing enough, but the really interesting thing about GPU is the license its developers have given it. They call it a "no military use" modified version of the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Tiziano Mengotti and Rene Tegel are the lead developers on the GPU project. Mengotti is the driving force behind the license "patch," which says "the program and its derivative work will neither be modified or executed to harm any human being nor through inaction permit any human being to be harmed."

Mengotti says the clause is specifically intended to prevent military use. "We are software developers who dedicate part of our free time to open source development. The fact is that open source is used by the military industry. Open source operating systems can steer warplanes and rockets. [This] patch should make clear to users of the software that this is definitely not allowed by the licenser."

He says some might think an attempt to prevent military use might be "too idealistic" and would not work in practice, but he references the world of ham radio, whose rules specify that the technology is not to be used commercially. "Surprisingly enough, this rule is respected by almost every ham operator."

The developers readily acknowledge that the "patch" contradicts the original intention of the GPL, to provide complete freedom for users of software and source code licensed under it. "This license collides with paragraph six of the Open Source Definition," is how they word it in the license preamble.

Richard Stallman, the founder of the Free Software movement and author of the GPL, says that while he doesn't support the philosophy of "open source," neither does he believe software developers or distributors have the right to try to control other people's activities through restricting the software they run. "Nonetheless, I don't think the requirement is entirely vacuous, so we cannot disregard it as legally void."

"As a pacifist, I sympathize with their goals," says Russ Nelson, president of the Open Source Initiative (OSI). "People who feel strongly about war will sometimes take actions which they realize are ineffectual, but make it clear that they are not willing to take action which directly supports war."

Tegel says he doesn't fully agree with the inclusion of the clause in GPU's license. "I see the point, and my personal opinion supports it, but I am not sure if it fits in a license," he says. "Like our Dutch military: I can say it is bad because it kills people and costs money. But on the other hand, we were taught by both our leftist and rightist teachers to enjoy our freedom due to the alliance freeing us from Nazis, a thing which I appreciate very much."

Both developers do agree about one aspect of their license clause. It is based on the first of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov's Three Law of Robotics, which states, "A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." That, they say, is a good thing, "because the guy was right," Tegel says, "and he showed the paradox that almost any technological development has to solve, whether it is software or an atom bomb. We must discuss now what ethical problems we may raise in the future."

[MikefromOhio]

LOL!!

But I bet you didn't go home!!!

I bet you were using your cell phone to post on FR!!!

You're such a joke Iggle and now you're exposed!!!

You won't get this post or any of the others removed.

[MikefromOhio]

And FWIW, I just called a friend at work and had him try to get to FR.

It's blocked by the base firewall.

Har har har

[Golden Eagle]

Like I already said, I can make twice the pay what most of the GS can, and still make all the technical decisions. You have a lot to learn, indeed. Free Linux, yeah, that's your ticket, LMAO!

[MikefromOhio]

Like I already said, I can make twice the pay what most of the GS can, and still make all the technical decisions. You have a lot to learn, indeed. Free Linux, yeah, that's your ticket, LMAO!

touchy touchy iggle. Too bad the network you make the decisions for SUCKS and is a complete joke. I'll take the network I worked on at CENTCOM over the crap that is launched upon our Air Force any day of the week.

And you're STILL JUST A CONTRACTOR IGGLE!! LOL!!!

This has been a VERY enlightening thread. Iggle gets exposed as someone who posts from work and admits to being the "technical" guy behind the horrible AF network. Gotta love it. You can't buy entertainment like this. LOL

Now run along Iggle, I'm sure that since you're home now, you won't be posting as much. LIkewise I have better things to do myself...which would encompass ANYTHING.

[MikefromOhio]

And making twice of what a GS-5 makes isn't very impressive Iggle.

[Golden Eagle]

But I bet you didn't go home!!!

LOL I go home every day. Three stories, on the water, I walk it in 20 minutes sometimes.

[MikefromOhio]

apartments that you share with 4 other roommates don't count as a house Iggle.

[Golden Eagle]

the horrible AF network.

You really are pathetic. Thanks for showing everyone, again. Now you can go on back to managing your Jim Rome ping list where you might at least have a chance to be right about something.

[MikefromOhio]

You really are pathetic. Thanks for showing everyone, again. Now you can go on back to managing your Jim Rome ping list where you might at least have a chance to be right about something.

Prove me wrong. YOu won't be able too and everyone else here will laugh at you again. Actually they already are.

[Golden Eagle]

I just called a friend at work and had him try to get to FR. It's blocked by the base firewall.

Duh. If he's as dumb as you, he probably forgot to use your computer too. What total novices you boys are.

[rzeznikj at stout]

I see your Ubuntu banner and raise you a Slackware...8^)

[MikefromOhio]

You really are pathetic. Thanks for showing everyone, again. Now you can go on back to managing your Jim Rome ping list where you might at least have a chance to be right about something.

Thankfully we only have to worry about what the base comm group says for ONE of our networks. That means that we really have 2 FUNCTIONING networks, and then the UNCLASS which is constantly SLOW, inoperative and needing patched.

Our other two networks aren't controlled specifically by the Air Force and the TNCOIC and they work just FINE. And we also have Linux on those 2 networks, it's very secure and stable, and things have REALLY smoothed out since we took the Winblows servers offline and replaced them with SAMBA servers. Har har har.

[Golden Eagle]

How about post #127, LOL? You already forgot, apparently. If you had any sense, you'd have stepped away from the keyboard, then.

[MikefromOhio]

Duh. If he's as dumb as you, he probably forgot to use your computer too. What total novices you boys are.

Iggle just admit that you're the dayshift janitor and get it over with. Your petulant comebacks are getting boring. WE both know you are here for entertainment only.

[MikefromOhio]

What about it?

I honestly still think it's true, but you claim it isn't.

So which contractor do you work for genius?

[MikefromOhio]

Way to punctuate too Iggle.

I guess contractors who "made it too the top" never learned proper ENGLISH.

[Golden Eagle]

Geez you're an idiot, spouting off on the open line about your quantity and type of networks. I remember the time you claimed to be an admin on one of those networks, then admitted you didn't even know the password. Now you're down to giving out unnecessary technical details in the hope of a little attention.

[MikefromOhio]

Geez you're an idiot, spouting off on the open line about your quantity and type of networks. I remember the time you claimed to be an admin on one of those networks, then admitted you didn't even know the password. Now you're down to giving out unnecessary technical details in the hope of a little attention.

Trust me Iggle, you're lame attempt at trying to paint me as a security violator isn't going anywhere.

BTW that second part was when I was in Iraq. When I worked for CENTCOM, not in my new position with the Air Force. Different networks, different everything. NOt that you'd know, because I'm 100% certain you don't have a clue what you're even talking about.

[MikefromOhio]

Now you're down to giving out unnecessary technical details in the hope of a little attention.

Are you still at work? LOL!!

[rzeznikj at stout]

Thread Jester Ping

A low-volume pinglist dedicated for all the thread jesters out there--you know who you are...8^)

FReepmail rzeznikj at stout or MikefromOhio to be added or struck from the list...